We continue our build-up to the World Cup with some exciting player profiles. In this week’s edition, we select Arjen Robben, the Dutch winger who is known for his silky dribbling and dangerous crosses. iSporter Pulasta Dhar outlines the winger.
Name: Arjen Robben
Nationality: Netherlands
Place of birth: Bedum, Netherlands
Date of birth: 23rd Jan, 1984
Height: 6 feet
Clubs represented: Groningen, PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid
Position: Winger/Forward
Number: 10
Preferred moves: Cuts in from left, plays wide, dribbles to beat players
Arjen Robben started out on a starry career at modest club Groningen. PSV Eindhoven were quick to snap him up before other European clubs could make their interest known and it is here that Robben really outshone the rest of his teammates. With PSV, he formed a crucial partnership with Mateja Kezman, who would also later be a Chelsea player and these two when playing together were known as ‘Batman and Robben’. PSV could hold back the talented player for only 2 seasons as Robben gained more reputation throughout Europe.
As Manchester Utd were looking to recruit new wingers after David Beckham’s departure, Robben went to London to meet Sir Alex Ferguson. United were ready to offer 7 million Euros, an offer which generated the famous response from PSV’s chairman that that sort of money would only buy a shirt signed by Robben! Chelsea, looking to establish themselves as one of the premier teams in England, cashed in on United’s loss and made an 18 million Euro offer. It is left to be rued for United fans that a dreamland partnership of Ronaldo and Robben was so close yet never happened.
In his three seasons for Chelsea, he was vital in his role on the left in setting up numerous goals as well as scoring important ones. He won back-to-back titles with the Blues. Also, he is well known for his theatrics against Liverpool when Pepe Reina shoved him in the face. Later Reina commented, “He could have won an Oscar for what he did!”
One of the reasons I feel Chelsea were not as potent in their next three seasons was because they made the mistake of selling Robben to Madrid for 40 million Euros. He became a fan favourite with his marauding runs down the left hand side of the pitch and made crucial contributions in the La Liga winning squad. With the advent of the Galacticos II, he was force-sold to Bayern Munich for 24 million Euros. He later confirmed that he never wanted to leave Spain.
As soon as he moved to Bayern, he came off the bench in his first appearance and scored 2 goals to begin his new life with a wonderful reception from the fans. Today he pairs with Frank Ribery to make life difficult for the full backs facing Munich.
His journey with the national team began when manager Dick Advocaat decided to infuse some young blood into the ‘Oranje’. Along with Van Der Vaart and Heitinga also came Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben. He has made 42 appearances so far and scored 11 goals for them. Robben is somewhat a comeback hero himself, vying for a place in the squad with Robin van Persie. With the new regime under Marco van Basten, Robben has proved that not selecting him is not a good decision, doing this by scoring and providing exemplary performances off the bench against strong teams like France.
Even though he is just 25 and has a long and successful career ahead of him, he still holds a World Cup record of his own, being one of only eight players to have won two Man of the Matches in the tournament. Look out for him if you love watching the Dutch with their total football.
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